"Oh?"
Albert II's interest was piqued. He took the document and asked curiously:
"What report is this? Does Colonel Morin, in addition to his extremely strong professional ability in small-scale tactical operations, also have his own unique insights into large-scale formation warfare?"
In the perception of most high-ranking generals, small-scale tactical operations and large-scale formation warfare are two completely different domains. Those adept at the former are often skilled in calculation and focus on details.
Those adept at the latter, however, need a grand strategic vision, the ability to strategize comprehensively, and the capacity to disregard immediate gains and losses.
The abilities and ways of thinking required for the two differ significantly.
Morin's talent in real-time frontline command of battalion, company, and platoon-level combat had been vividly proven through numerous previous campaigns and this Budapest operation.
But his ability in commanding large-scale formation warfare... although he had passed the War Academy's "crash course," had yet to be tested in actual combat.
Hearing Albert II's words, Moltke the Younger's face revealed undisguised appreciation and approval.
"Your Majesty, actually, Colonel Morin has already demonstrated his talent in this regard. As early as the Battle of Creil, Morin, then merely an Army Major, had already proposed the tactical theories of the 'creeping barrage' and 'assault groups' within the First Army."
Moltke paused, his tone unsparing in its praise for Morin.
It could be said that, setting aside other factors, for this Chief of the Army General Staff, Colonel Friedrich von Morin was exactly the type of subordinate he favored most.
His professional competence was simply too strong...
"The final outcome of the Battle of Creil also fully proved that Colonel Morin indeed possesses unique insights far surpassing ordinary men in larger-scale engagements."
"And in this newly submitted report, Colonel Morin, based on the premise that Operation 'Ghost' could be successfully completed, has proposed a series of bold tactical hypotheses and plans for our subsequent overall combat operations in the Balkan Peninsula."
Albert II's interest deepened.
He opened the folder and read carefully, while Moltke provided explanations from the side.
"Your Majesty, the core of Colonel Morin's series of tactical hypotheses is as follows..."
During this process, the Emperor's brow furrowed and relaxed intermittently.
He would occasionally stop and ask Moltke and Falkenhayn about the feasibility of a certain link in the plan.
After all, a battle plan cannot be judged solely on whether its various designs are exquisite; one must also consider whether the combat units executing the plan can actually achieve them.
Albert II also quickly saw that the risk of the entire battle plan was actually quite high, but he didn't outright reject it because of these risks.
On the contrary, he could see a genius-like imagination and an accurate grasp of enemy psychology within this plan.
This indeed didn't seem like a fantasy.
After Albert II, with Moltke's help, fully understood the core concept of the entire plan, a long silence fell over the study.
Albert II closed the folder, tapping his finger lightly on the cover, making a "thump, thump, thump" sound.
After a long while, he looked up at Moltke and asked in an exceptionally serious tone:
"Lord Helmuth, tell me, how high is the credibility of Colonel Morin's deductions regarding the enemy's reactions and countermeasures in this report, and the executability of this tactic itself?"
Facing the Emperor's inquiry, Moltke's expression also became extremely serious.
He knew that if Albert II asked this question, it meant he was truly interested in this plan.
Moltke took a deep breath, organized his words slightly, and answered in a deep voice:
"Your Majesty, regarding the deductions of the Balkan nations' movements in this report... to determine how high its credibility is, we still need to conduct a more in-depth analysis and confirmation of their internal movements during this period through the cooperation of the diplomatic and intelligence departments."
"After all, war is the continuation of politics. Whether these countries will truly react to our movements as Colonel Morin anticipates depends on many complex factors and cannot be confirmed one hundred percent through pure military wargaming alone."
The words of this Chief of the Imperial Army General Staff were rigorous and objective.
He didn't blindly endorse this plan just because he admired Morin.
Albert II nodded, gesturing for him to continue.
"As for the feasibility of the tactic itself..."
Moltke paused. His gaze swept over the map that had been brought out along with the report, his eyes becoming sharp:
"I personally believe that if the situation Colonel Morin deduced truly occurs, and the Balkan coalition forces really take this opportunity to launch a massive offensive, then this set of tactics will have extremely high feasibility!"
"It can even be said that we can achieve a massive battle result at a minimal cost through this tactic!"
Moltke's tone was decisive and full of confidence.
As Chief of the Imperial General Staff, he naturally saw the risks of this plan, but he also saw the immense opportunities it contained.
Once successful, the Saxon Empire's subsequent offensive in the Balkan Peninsula would achieve a "heavenly start" (a perfect opening).
After listening to Moltke's analysis, Albert II didn't express his stance immediately.
He picked up the report, flipped through a few more pages, and his gaze rested on the last page regarding the mission assignments for various units.
Looking at the unit designation marked in red ink responsible for executing the most critical mission, a faint smile curled the corner of the Emperor's mouth.
"Judging from this report, our Colonel Morin has absolute confidence in his judgment and command abilities."
The Emperor's voice made it hard to tell if he was expressing admiration or some other emotion.
"After all, other commanders, when making this kind of large-scale tactical planning, would not proactively place their own unit in such an important yet extremely risky position."
Placing one's own unit on the tip of the blade, at the very core of the entire campaign.
This requires not only courage but also an absolute confidence in one's own abilities.
Falkenhayn also nodded, saying with deep empathy: "Your Majesty, in terms of leading by example and commanding directly from the front line, Colonel Morin is indeed a role model in our Imperial Army."
"Of course, it must be emphasized..."
The Minister of War shifted his tone and added:
"This is also built upon the premise that Colonel Morin's own combat power is sufficiently formidable."
"After all, looking across the entire Empire... or even the entire Europa continent, one cannot find a second young officer like him, whose personal combat power is so formidable it far exceeds ordinary men, while his command ability can simultaneously be called the 'art of war'."
An officer who knows how to command is not uncommon in the Saxon Empire or the entire Europa army.
But an officer who can command, fight exceptionally well, and propose subversive tactical theories is as rare as phoenix feathers or unicorn horns.
Not to mention, this army colonel was still so young.
Listening to the unsparing praise of his two key ministers for Morin, Albert II couldn't help but smile and shake his head.
"This Colonel Morin is truly becoming more and more interesting."
He gently placed the report on the desk, and then, in an unquestionable tone, made his final decision.
"I agree in principle with the operational concept proposed in this report, but it still needs to be further refined to make it actionable!"
"Lord Helmuth, have the Operations Department of the Army General Staff immediately use this report as a basis to formulate a more detailed operational plan."
"But you must be fast! Because judging from the report submitted by the State Secretary for Foreign Affairs yesterday, our armistice negotiations with the Gauls cannot drag on any longer."
Mentioning the Gauls, a rare relaxed smile appeared on the Emperor's face.
The current situation of the Gallic Republic could be described as "oil exhausted and lamp dry" without any exaggeration.
After losing vast swaths of vital national territory, their domestic economy had collapsed, social contradictions had intensified to the extreme, and anti-war sentiment was unprecedentedly high.
It could be said they could no longer sustain a "state of war."
Therefore, in recent negotiations, the Gauls successively agreed to multiple terms proposed by the Saxon Empire, which they considered somewhat harsh.
The other party only sought to sign the armistice agreement as soon as possible and exit this war that had drained their blood.
The Emperor's gaze swept over Moltke and Falkenhayn:
"Once we sign an armistice with the Gauls, we can free up more main combat units... By then, whether we intend to drive the Britannians in northern Gaul into the sea or deal with potential crises on the Eastern Front, we will be able to handle it with much greater ease."
"Therefore, we must seize the time to establish an advantage in the Balkan Peninsula and force the Britannians into a passive situation."
"Yes! Your Majesty!"
Moltke and Falkenhayn stood up simultaneously and gave a standard military salute.
At the Saxon Emperor's lunch table, the decision to further accelerate the situation in the Balkan Peninsula was quietly finalized.
...
And at this very moment, those Magyar nobles far away in Budapest were still completely oblivious to this.
They were immersed in immense panic and chaos.
The chain reaction ultimately generated by Operation "Ghost" carried out in Budapest was far more intense than Morin, Crown Prince Georg, and Field Marshal Conrad had initially imagined.
In fact, on the day of the operation, during the changing of the guard, the people of Budapest realized something was terribly wrong.
At that time, the new shift of guards, led by their squad leader, arrived at the back door of the Tisza Palace.
According to routine, they should have conducted the handover with the previous shift of guards here.
But when they reached the back door, they found it empty. The entire area had plunged into a deathly silence.
"Where is everyone? Where the hell did the sentries go?"
The captain of the guard frowned, an ominous premonition immediately rising in his heart... However, clearly lacking enough vigilance, he still cursed at the empty sentry post, then ordered his men to split up and search.
Soon, a soldier found a cold corpse in a nearby flower bed.
Immediately after, in the tall grass and under the bushes, corpses were uncovered one after another.
A full ten corpses, all of them the guards from the previous shift responsible for guarding the back door.
The captain of the guard gasped, his scalp instantly tingling.
Something huge had happened!
He scrambled and crawled towards the guardhouse at the main gates of the Tisza Palace, frantically ringing the alarm bell.
The piercing bell tore through the night sky of Budapest, completely igniting the panic in this city.
The entire Tisza Palace fell into a chaotic mess the instant the alarm bell rang.
The roaring of officers, the footsteps of soldiers, and the screams of maids mixed together, turning this usually solemn and majestic Prime Minister's official residence into a poked hornet's nest.
When the captain of the guard led a team of men charging up to the second floor of the Tisza Palace and found the two personal bodyguards originally stationed at the bedroom door had also disappeared, his brain crashed.
When the crowd broke open the doors to Prime Minister Count István Tisza's bedroom, everyone was stunned by the sight before them.
The bedroom was a mess. Muddy footprints covered the expensive Persian carpet.
The two personal bodyguards just lay dead on the floor, while the large bed nearby was empty.
The iron-fisted Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Hungary, Count István Tisza, had mysteriously disappeared from his own heavily guarded official residence just like that!
Although through the corpses of the guards found at the scene, Budapest quickly determined that their Prime Minister had been forcibly abducted using an extremely professional method.
Moreover, they could figure out with their toes who, at this critical juncture, had the capability and motive to do such a thing. Who else could it be but those Austrians upstream on the Danube?
But understanding it was one thing...
This situation still made all Magyar nobles feel terror from the bottom of their hearts.
This was too f*cking scary!
The opponent could actually, entirely undetected, infiltrate the heavily guarded capital and kidnap a living person from the Prime Minister's official residence!
What did this mean?
This meant that they, the core members of Budapest, were equally completely undefended in the opponent's eyes!!
If they could kidnap the Prime Minister today, couldn't they sneak into their bedrooms tomorrow and cut their heads off?
An unprecedented sense of insecurity enveloped the heart of every Magyar noble.
Furthermore, Count István Tisza had always taken the path of "strongman politics" in the Hungarian political arena.
The reason the Magyar noble clique could be so united against the outside was largely due to this Lord Count.
It was precisely because of the hardline measures he adopted that everyone was twisted into a single rope.
He was the knot tying this rope together.
But now, this knot had suddenly been cut off by someone.
This powerful external force twisting everyone together just vanished without warning.
Consequently, these Magyar nobles entrenched in Budapest could be said to have instantly revealed their true colors.
They instantly plunged into a chaotic state of being leaderless and fighting for themselves.
Some advocated immediately lodging the strongest protests with Vienna, even at the cost of starting a war.
Some believed that with the Prime Minister missing and a vast disparity in strength between the enemy and themselves, they should exercise restraint first and send negotiators to Vienna to see what the other side actually wanted.
Still others began making their own petty calculations...
The Prime Minister is gone, so doesn't that mean the Prime Minister's seat is vacant?
Do I have a chance to take his place?
And just as the entire Budapest political arena fell into chaos, the next afternoon, Vienna dropped a second bombshell.
They released a public statement through official channels.
In the statement, they admitted the fact of arresting Count István Tisza in a "Special Military Operation," but the wording was extremely hardline. They declared that, according to the sacred Imperial Constitution, this Hungarian Prime Minister had committed "treason."
The release of this statement caused an even greater uproar.
But this time, the focus of most people in Budapest was no longer questioning the legality of Vienna's actions... but rather, shocked at how exactly they managed to do it.
Immediately after, before everyone could recover from their shock, Vienna issued a second, even more explosive statement.
They declared they had obtained conclusive evidence proving that the Empire's former Crown Prince, Archduke Karl, had colluded with the rebel party and the Holy Britannians in the recent attempted coup in Vienna!
And Count Tisza and his cronies were deeply involved in this matter as well!
So this was no longer a simple internal contradiction of the Empire.
This was an extremely serious act of colluding with foreign enemies and splintering the nation!
At the end of the statement, Vienna righteously declared:
Under the circumstances where the old Emperor was unable to maintain the overall situation of the Empire due to health reasons, and the former Crown Prince colluded with foreign enemies in an attempt to launch a coup... in order to safeguard the unity and stability of the Empire, Vienna was forced to establish a new monarch, and Archduke Eugen, who possessed the right of succession, would inherit the Imperial throne!
Simultaneously, based on Budapest's long-standing severe acts of splintering the nation.
To eradicate the soil of rebellion, Vienna was also forced to take coercive emergency actions, temporarily stripping the Kingdom of Hungary of its autonomy, and the Imperial General Staff would directly take over its administrative and military power!
This combination of punches from Vienna was fast and ruthless, giving Budapest no time to align their granularity (synchronize information/strategies).
Moreover, at the very moment the second statement was released, several main combat units directly commanded and controlled by the Austro-Hungarian General Staff had already crossed the traditional boundary between Austria and Hungary in multiple columns, marching massively into the territory of the Kingdom of Hungary.
It was precisely because over two-thirds of the Saxon Empire's Fifth Army Group had already been deployed at the border that Conrad dared to pull back several main field armies.
However, the fierce and bloody civil war most people expected simply did not occur...
The several "Common Army" units controlled by the Army General Staff indeed quickly made contact with the garrisons stationed in the boundary zones between the two kingdoms.
But the so-called "firefights" were basically symbolic.
Because those stationed long-term in these areas were precisely those "Ersatz Reserve" troops whose training level was on par with civilians...
Most garrison commanders, upon seeing the incoming main field armies, instantly lost any thought of resistance in their hearts.
Are you kidding?
Relying on this handful of civilians and "grandpa-tier" equipment of the "Ersatz Reserve" to go head-to-head with the main force of the "Common Army," the only capable fighting force in the Imperial Army? Wasn't that throwing eggs at a rock?
More importantly, who are we fighting for?
For those high-and-mighty Magyar nobles?
They themselves are in a chaotic mess right now; they can't even find someone to issue orders.
And according to Vienna, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Hungary has committed "treason"!
Why should we, who draw salaries from the Ministry of War, risk our lives for a "traitor" and his cronies?
This was exactly why Vienna released the public announcements as fast as possible.
For old Europa, claiming the moral high ground through a declaration was often the key "winning move" in an entire showdown...
Furthermore, Field Marshal Conrad, despite a poor reputation for military command, had operated within the entire Austro-Hungarian Army system for many years, and still possessed some prestige and connections.
So, after the envoys sent by the "counter-rebellion forces" reasoned with emotion and logic, combined with a little bit of perfectly timed threat... most of the reserve units within the Kingdom of Hungary chose the wisest course of action.
Fired a few shots into the sky, emptied a magazine of bullets... then cleanly and decisively raised the white flag and chose to surrender.
Against this backdrop, this massive "counter-rebellion operation" organized by Vienna encountered almost no decent resistance. The multiple field armies participating in the operation marched towards Budapest almost unimpeded.
Within the city of Budapest, the bit of turmoil just stirred up by the Prime Minister's disappearance was quickly suppressed by the tide of armed forces entering the city before it could even ferment.
It could be said that in this operation, the Austro-Hungarian Army General Staff, and the army units under its direct command, uncharacteristically displayed unprecedented decisiveness and high efficiency.
This also allowed this massive crisis, which originally might have caused the entire Austro-Hungarian Empire to disintegrate, to be forcibly suppressed in an almost dramatic manner.
A dual monarchy that had existed for nearly half a century, within these short few days, in a way no one expected, "temporarily" reverted to a unitary system.
Of course, all this happened under Vienna's strict information control.
The outside world, especially those countries far away in the Balkan Peninsula, as well as the Holy Britannia Empire across the sea, were still in a state of severely delayed information regarding this drastic upheaval occurring within the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
According to the intelligence they received, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was in utter chaos.
Austrians and Hungarians had already started fighting with real swords and guns.
The newly enthroned Emperor didn't even have time for a decent coronation ceremony; the entire country might have already plunged into the turmoil of an all-out civil war.
For those countries in the Balkan Peninsula, this was simply a once-in-a-lifetime, excellent opportunity.
Previously, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, with the strong support of the Saxon Empire, had continuously reinforced the Balkan border regions.
Those military trains fully loaded with Saxon soldiers and heavy equipment, those sturdy fortifications springing up along the border line, had already made the Kingdom of Greater Serbia and other Balkan nations feel immense pressure.
Everyone realized that the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Saxon Empire were about to join forces to launch a new round of massive offensives of unprecedented scale against them.
The Austro-Hungarian Army might not be a huge threat...
But the illustrious reputation of the Saxon Imperial Army had spread throughout the entire Balkan Peninsula during this time.
Under this pressure of national subjugation, and the active mediation of the Holy Britannia Empire, apart from the Kingdom of Bulgaria whose stance had always wavered, the other major nations of the Balkan Peninsula quickly reached an agreement.
They would jointly join the Entente camp and fight a united war against the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Saxon Empire.
The troops originally massed by these nations at the border had already prepared to fight a grueling defensive war, but now the situation suddenly changed.
This fragile giant, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, seemed to be collapsing from within.
Of course, the top echelons of these nations were still very cautious and didn't act immediately.
However, this last bit of caution was thrown to the wind as reconnaissance reports continuously arrived.
"The Austro-Hungarian and Saxon Imperial coalition forces, which had already advanced in the border regions, are retreating across the entire line!"